Field
The present invention relates to a method for assisting a driver in driving a vehicle, a driver assistance system, a computer software program product and a vehicle including such driver assistance system.
Description of the Related Art
Conventional adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems control the vehicle speed according to a target speed setting, detect moving objects in the vehicle path, such as preceding vehicles, and provide throttle and brake control, if necessary, to maintain a trailing distance (headway or time gap) from the preceding vehicle.
DE 10 2008 061 388 A1 discloses an adaptive cruise control system in which the vehicle speed and the gap can be set and adjusted by the vehicle operator. In DE 10 2008 061 388 A1, if a preceding vehicle is detected, a gap is selected automatically on basis of the detected distance from the preceding vehicle and the vehicle operator can later adapt the selected gap.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,810 B2 discloses an ACC system that automatically modifies the gap to limit the follow distance to the predecessor in order to keep this predecessor in sensor range.
EP 2 730 945 A1 discloses an ACC system that automatically modifies the gap based on the determined position, velocity and acceleration of both the ego-vehicle and the predecessor and a model comprising statistical noise characteristics of the ego-vehicle sensors to ensure a safe distance in case of strong braking of the predecessor vehicle.
US2012/0123660A1 discloses a system, in which the amount of traffic is estimated and the inter-vehicle distance and the vehicle speed are set based on the amount.
EP1317359 B1 discloses an ACC system, in which the gap is increased automatically when low friction is determined by detecting wheel slip using Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), traction control and vehicle stability control.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,153B1 discloses an ACC system that determines a driving surface coefficient of friction based on a driven wheel speed of the vehicle and that automatically modifies the gap based on the driving surface coefficient of friction.
In conventional adaptive cruise control systems, the vehicle operator/driver can adapt the gap to the preceding vehicle manually by choosing from a small number of gap settings. In this way, the driver can use dedicated different gap sizes for different environmental conditions.
For example, in case of a confusing traffic situation or very low traffic density, a driver might prefer a larger gap to the preceding vehicle than in normal traffic situations in order to feel more comfortable.
In case of very dense traffic, the driver might prefer a smaller gap to the preceding vehicle than in normal traffic situations in order to prevent frequent cut-ins of other vehicles or in order to raise capacity utilization of the road.
Particularly if the driving/environmental conditions change frequently, the driver often has to adapt the gap setting of the ACC manually, which can be uncomfortable.